To the Happy Couple
by Evey Edge
Summary: It's Gwen's wedding day. Jack is not taking it well. The Doctor shows up. Jack/Gwen
1. Chapter 1

"To the happy couple!" Jack raised yet another bottle of bourbon for the….well he couldn't quite remember how many he'd had so far that day. After saluting the imaginary pair, he put the bottle to his lips and chugged like a man dying of thirst. In his haste some of the liquor spurted out of his overflowing mouth and onto his tuxedo. Jack didn't bother glancing down at the spill. Jack finished draining the bottle dry before carefully adding the empty container to the row of assorted alcohol he had been lining up along his desk. Only then did he turn his attention to the damp spot on his suit. "That's going to be hell to dry-clean."

"Jack?" The sound of the familiar voice made the captain jerk his head up fastest than was advisable in his current condition. His vision blurred then refocused on a vision of an old friend.

"Doctor? Well this is an unexpected hallucination." The newcomer in the long brown coat frowned.

"No hallucination Jack, I'm really here. Tardis needed a bit of a recharge and I thought I'd pop in, have a bit of a poke around your operation." The Time lord scrutinized the captain's disheveled state. "Are you all right Jack?"

"Me? I'm fine. Hey, where are my manners, would you like a drink?" Jack pulled yet another bottle from his desk drawer. The Doctor watched warily as the captain ripped the cork out with his teeth and unceremoniously spat it across the room.

"No thanks. It looks like you've had more than enough for the two of us already."

Jack shrugged, unrepentant. "What's the point in not having to worrying about liver failure if you can't have some fun now and again. Remind me to thank Rose for that one." The Doctor stiffened at the mention of his former companion's name, but Jack was too occupied taking a swing of his latest bottle to notice. "So how'd you find this place anyway?"

"Martha."

"That's right. How is she?"

"Fine. Happy actually. Certainly seems to doing a bit better than you at the moment."

"Hey Doc, I told you, I'm fine. I'm great. I've got a purpose, a mission. I've got a secret headquarters with a pterodactyl and an invisible lift…" Jack had gotten out of his chair and was gesturing with the hand that was still clutching his liquor bottle.

"And your team?" Jack stopped to stare at the Doctor.

"What about my team?"

"Last time I saw you, you were looking forward to seeing them again."

"Yeah. Yeah I was." Jack took another hefty swallow and then let the bottle dangle dejectedly at his side. Moving cautiously, the Doctor approached the captain and pried the container from his friend's fist. Jack made no move to stop him, his mind seemly having settled on dark thoughts far away from the present.

"So where are they then? I'd love to meet them." The Doctor was using his chipper enthusiastic tone, but his eyes were serious and concerned. Jack found himself unable to meet them.

"They left me." Jack shook his head at his unintended phrasing. "I mean they left me here to monitor the screens in case something pops up." Jack gave another hopeful look at the bank of computers, but like before, nothing unusual had registered. No Weevil sightings. No space trash. No invasion. Nothing. Nada. Zip. A damnable disaster-free day. For the world at large anyway.

"So where are they?"

"At the church." The Doctor raised his eyebrows at the way Jack practically spat out the last word. "One of the team…Gwen, her name is Gwen…is getting married today. In about an hour actually." Jack smiled and forced a laugh. "Imagine, someone in our line of work getting married."

"And you're not going to the wedding?"

"NO." Jack's answer was terse and harsh and so full of anger he even surprised himself. Moderating his tone, he strove to regain his carefree charm. "I mean someone needs be here, in case something goes wrong. The world doesn't stop needing saving just because Gwen Cooper's getting married. I am going to the reception though. Ianto's coming back to take a shift. I'm actually giving a toast. That's what I was doing before you came in, practicing the toast. I'm going to say, 'To the happy couple…'" Jack grin failed him as he looked off into the distance. Then he turned his eyes back to the Doctor. "You know Doctor, it took me a long time but I finally get it."

The Doctor blinked at him confused. "Get what?"

"You. Rose. I get it now. I used to think you were the stupidest genius I'd ever met in my life. I mean there's Rose, with you all the time. Beautiful. Blond. Overall amazing. And most importantly, hugely into you. And I mean big time into you. Like, would have turned me down if I tried anything more than flirting. So when she gave you the openings and you didn't jump on them I just thought, ok maybe she's not his type. But then I knew that couldn't be it. I saw the way looked her, hundreds of times, when she didn't even see you looking. But I saw! The day we caught that slyven. You were spying on her when she left with Mickey. And I didn't interfere, I didn't say anything. But I wondered. I wondered until a few months ago, when I did the same thing myself. It was then I really realized the similarities between our situations. Gwen was there. She was right there in front of me. And I realized in that year of torture and death that I want nothing more from my life than to go back. Than to be with her. To be home. I was ready to tell her too. It was on the tip of my tongue. But I felt the ring. I was too late. She was engaged. She did give me another chance. A last chance. She did. She said, "No one else will have me." I could have said it! I wanted to say it! But I didn't. Because Rhys can give her so much I can't. He can give her sanity. A life outside this. He can marry her. He can grow old with her, die with her in his arms. Better for her. Better for me too. That's what I knew as I watched her walk away with him, my insides burning, twisting with jealousy, betrayal, and despair. You know better than anyone Doc, people like you and me, we were meant to walk alone."

"Jack, owing to the fact you are extremely intoxicated, I am going to forgive you for bringing up a subject I never want to talk about again. But if I understood your ramblings correctly then I am bound as your friend to say something here. Each and every day I regret never telling Rose what she meant to me. Every day. It was my hubris really as a Time Lord, to think there would always be more chances and more time. And I was wrong. I will NEVER have another chance to say the most important words ever invented in any language in all of time and space. Learn from what I lost and tell her. And if you are worried about the future and about time, remember my words, Captain Jack Harkness. All any of us has is right now!"


	2. Chapter 2

As Gwen stared at herself in the mirror, she felt like a fraud. Like a liar disguised in lace. Reflected in the glass she saw a bride, a figure of love and devotion. Inside she felt like a hypocrite. She knew this should be the happiest day of her life. Everyone said that about their wedding day. She had all of her friends and family here to support her. She had a wonderful man whom she loved waiting to join his fate with hers. She knew how blessed she was and that only made her feel more guilty about being so miserable.

Gwen sighed and struggled to smooth imaginary creases out of the dress. _And forsaking all others, be loyal only to him._ That was part in the vows she expected to be stuck by lightning on. Gwen hadn't exactly done a fantastic job staying loyal to Rhys in the past. The affair with Owen immediately sprang to mind. The affair which she'd confessed to, only to wipe the confession from Rhys' mind moments later. She'd justified her infidelity as a mistake that meant nothing. She rationalized it would be selfish to cause Rhys pain about something that would never happen again. She explained the affair itself as a result of her need to connect with someone who understood the madness of what she saw everyday. She was stronger now than she was then, more a part of the team as a whole. She could share her burden with all of them and then go home to Rhys. And now that Rhys knew the secret, life would get even easier. Well perhaps not. Rhys could listen, but could he really understand the way Jack…the way the TEAM could? Where had that thought come from? She had promised herself not to think of Jack today.

She had crossed the mental line she had sworn not to cross. She had come to the real reason she was afraid to go down the aisle today. Because she knew when she reached the altar she would be wishing someone else was standing beside her.

A sound of whirling technological noises filled the dressing room, interrupting Gwen's thoughts. Without thinking twice Gwen reached under her dress for the gun she had strapped to her leg. She had expected something like this to happen. Torchwood law demanded that no major event in her personal life could occur without alien interruption. She spun and fixed her gun on a blue box that appeared to be materializing in the center of the room.

"You have picked the wrong day to invade Earth, mate. Whatever you are come out of that thing with your hands or whatever parts you have, up." The door to the blue box opened slightly.

"Please don't shoot me, I'm just the designated driver." Out came a slim man in a long brown trench coat and a childlike grin on his face. "Hello. You must be Gwen…" Suddenly he frowned, "Hold on minute, it's the strangest thing but you look just like someone named Gweneth I met here a few generations back. You wouldn't be a time traveler by any chance, would you?" The man called back into the open door, "Jack, you didn't mention she was a time agent."

"That's because she's not." Gwen lowered her gun as her boss staggered out of the open door. His normally perfectly styled hair was sticking up in places it had never stuck up before, his tuxedo had more creases than her Gran's face and he smelled like he'd bathed in a distillery. He was still the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She rushed over to him as he swayed unsteadily on his feet.

"Jack, are you alright?"

"I think I need a chair. I forgot how much I like flying in the Tardis."

"Right, here you go." The stranger in the brown coat helpfully handed Gwen a folding chair. After lowering Jack on to the seat Gwen turned to the man and hit him squarely in the chest.

"OWWW! Just when I'd forgotten the joys of domestic-"

"What did you do to him?!"

"I didn't do anything to him. He did it to himself! Smell his breath if don't believe me. Jack, she hits really hard."

"I know. One of the things I like best about her."

"Don't bullshit me! Jack physically can't get himself that drunk. The alcohol metabolizes too fast in his system. He'd need to be intravenously fed hard liquid for twelve hours straight to get this kind of effect."

"Sixteen actually."

"What did you say Jack?"

"Hard liquor, non-stop for sixteen hours."

"You drank-" Gwen began furiously, but was interrupted by a knocking on the door.

"Gwen? Everything alright in there? Tosh said she thought she heard some funny noises."

"Everything's fine Owen."

"Right then. The priest said to tell you fifteen minutes."

"Not a problem." Gwen looked daggers at Jack. The stranger, sensing the tense atmosphere decided to try and make his escape.

"Right, well I'm off to do a bit of mingling. I'm sure you two have things to discuss-"

"Hold on one second there, mate. You crashed my wedding, parked your…blue box in my dressing room, and delivered me my very pissed boss. I think you owe me a few answers. What are you doing here?"

"Well Jack wanted to talk to you, but obviously was in no condition to drive and I actually don't have a license so I thought we'd take the Tardis. Saved a lot of time on traffic." He flashed her an infectious grin, but Gwen wasn't interested in smiling.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor." Gwen could hear the capitalization in the word. Her eyes flickered between Jack and the man standing before her.

"Jack's Doctor? 'The right kind of doctor'?" Jack nodded once and Gwen looked upon the smiling stranger with fresh eyes. Without a word decked the man Captain Jack Harkness had abandoned her for. Not expecting the blow, Gwen's punch caught the Doctor off balance and sent him flying through air and then sprawling flat out on the floor.

"OOWWWW! What did you tell her about me?! This makes me almost miss Jackie." Gwen ignored him, deciding instead to focus her anger on Jack.

"So here we go again Jack. Your Doctor shows up and away you go, is it? Well, at least you took the trouble to say goodbye this time. So how long will this little holiday be? Six months? A year? Ten years? Will you be back in time for my Golden Anniversary?"

"Gwen it's nothing like that! I'm not going anywhere. I'm here because you are."

"What are talking about Jack? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying don't do it, Gwen. Don't marry Rhys. Don't leave me." There was a moment of complete silence as the Doctor held his breath, Jack watched Gwen, and Gwen tried to process what had just been said to her.

"You are unbelievable. I literally can not believe you would say this to me now, ten minutes before I'm suppose to get married! Was there something wrong with the months of time you had before today, before I was actually wearing a wedding dress?! 'Don't leave me'! Fairly ridiculous coming from you, isn't it Jack? Do you think I'd be standing here if you hadn't left me, without a word, without a thought? As far as I can see there's nothing stopping you from doing it again. There is a man waiting for me who I KNOW won't abandon me, who loves me-"

Jack closed the distance between them in three steps, grabbed Gwen by the shoulders and kissed her. His lips had touched hers twice before. The first time it had been during Gwen's first week at Torchwood. He had just saved her, trapping an alien about to enter her body, and Gwen had tilted his chin up and kissed him. It was a simple gesture of gratitude, no more, no less, and it had been over in a moment. Still that brief contact had made him pause. Of all the kisses he'd known, and he'd known some, he couldn't recall another that had held the same spark. This spark felt somehow higher than desire. It had felt like a promise. Of what the promise was, he'd had no notion. Still he'd known she had given him something precious.

The second kiss had been even more memorable. He had been trapped, alone in the darkness, abandoned and betrayed by everyone he was close to. It was then he'd felt it again, a million times stronger than first time, but the same promise guiding him back into the light. During the year that never happened he had held on to that moment to keep himself sane. He had focused on deciphering it as he was tortured, killed, and dragged back into life. In the end he'd known the promise: _You're lost_, it said, _I'll guide you. You're cold, I'll make you warm. You have no house to hide you. I'll be your shelter from the storm._ Gwen had given him life again. With the kiss he gave her now he tried to convey everything he wanted to give her. Understandably this took a rather long period of time. When he was finished he looked down into the wide brown eyes he'd admired from the first time they'd met. "I love you more."


	3. Chapter 3

Unfair. That was the only word Gwen could think of to describe the situation she was in now. It was unfair of Jack to kiss her today, as she stood there in her wedding dress. It was unfair to Rhys, the lovable rant who had already sacrificed so much for her. It was unfair to Ianto, a loyal partner to Jack and friend to Gwen. Finally it was unfair to her, for him to make her not care about anything but basking forever in the glory of his love.

Gwen had never felt anything similar to the sensation created by Jack's eyes looking down into hers. Jack's eyes had always seemed forever closed, as though he applied a clear seal to hold back his secrets, his rage, his pain. Mostly his pain. Gwen knew this because from time to time she would spot a crack. She'd seen it like when Estelle died, when Captain John had mentioned someone named Grey, and if she was honest with herself, the day she'd refused to retcon Rhys.

She had done it for a good reason, a moral reason, but she had sided with Rhys that day. She had made Jack choose between her and Torchwood. And Jack had chosen her. A gesture of love that she rewarded with her wordless departure into the arms of another man. It hurt her to recall Jack's eyes that day, to remember the tide of rage and betrayal threatening to spill out of his clear blue irises. It was hard to believe the eyes that held her now where the same as the ones so filled with pain.

Today his eyes shone with an impossible, an unspoiled adoration that was all the sweeter for fact it was based in truth. He had seen so much, yet in his eyes she was a wonder. He knew of her weaknesses, yet he saw her as strong. She had hurt him before, but she was gifted with his trust. Who could resist that degree of love?

And yet…

"Jack, we can't. Rhys-"

"Deserves better than to marry someone who loves someone else more," Jack cut in. He knew now that she did love him more. He'd always been confident of her physical attraction to him, he was too familiar with the signs to mistake them, but of her heart he was never certain. He'd known she cared about him, his happiness, and welfare, but then Gwen cared about everyone. Her empathy and compassion had been on of the things that initially drew him to her. It was ironic that the trait he prized so highly was the one that had so often led him into spirals of self-doubt and despair. That doubt was gone now.

"And Ianto? Don't tell you two are just shagging because I've seen the way he looks at you."

"All the more reason for me to end it now. I do care about Ianto, but soon he'll need something I can't give him, because it belongs to you."

"So what now?"

"Now you go tell Rhys and I go talk with Ianto." Jack started crossing toward the door but Gwen stepped in his path.

"I can't tell him about you Jack. It would just be too much after all he's put up with. And I don't think you should tell Ianto either. Not after this long, not when we all have to work together."

"How do you propose we hide it from him? Ianto knows everything that goes on at the Hub." Gwen's face tightened in answer to Jack's question. "No absolutely not after this I can't go back to the way things were!"

"You can. If you care about Ianto you will wait a week or two. Then you will find a way to end things with him as painlessly as possible. And then we will wait and watch and when enough time has past we can be together."

"But Gwen-"

"We have waited this long, we can wait a little longer."

"If I might make a suggestion? Provided someone promises not to hit me anymore." Jack and Gwen jumped having forgotten the Doctor was still in the room. "I have got a time and space machine and I could drop you to off somewhere for a little "couple's time" pick you back up and have you back here in ten seconds." Jack felt stunned. The Doctor he remembered never was so involved in "the domestic" as he called it. It seemed incredible this new Doctor would be so willing to dive into the other extreme, playing matchmaker and using his Tardis as a honeymoon cruise ship. The Doctor smiled slightly sadly as he answered Jack's unasked question "Rose would have wanted it for you." Jack realized that was the real different between the two versions of the same man. True the doctor had changed in appearance, mannerisms and temper, but the true change was that the old Doctor had Rose and the new one had suffered the loss of her. As much as he pitied the cause, Jack couldn't help but be grateful for the effect.

"What do you think Gwen? Care for an exotic honeymoon with me? Well sort of anyway."

"I think I would bloody well love any type of holiday with you. Where do you want to go?"

Jack smiled his most brilliant and dashing grin. "Ever been to Pompei?"


End file.
